The Arrobian Crisis
by Growing BrickbyBrick
Summary: The Imperium of Man is filled with many differing ideals and egos. The Arrobian Crisis had pride as its kindling and a Salamanders' anger as the torch and it only takes a single incident to send an entire system into a devastating spiral.


War was fading from this system, with the death of Warlord Snazzgut, the Arrobia system would soon be free from the ravages of the greenskins as they collapse in on themselves as is their fractious way. Leadership quarrels and scrapheap brawls would break out between the remaining Orks and they would cease their rampage across the system that had troubled the Imperium so much. This, though, didn't help Anusai at this exact moment. It was as if the monstrous greenskin he was fighting hadn't been told that he'd lost the war. 

Anusai ducked to the right as a solid chunk of metal disguised as a weapon wooshed past where the veteran sergeant had been a moment ago. Bringing his knife around, Anusai slashed back towards the lumbering beast and raked a large gash in its side, bloodied but unbeaten the Ork roared at Anusai and swung around for another attack. It was an ugly, vicious combat, with none of the artistry or flare that the stories tell you about. Just two slabs of muscle trying frantically to slay one another in the mud. 

The beast roared and charged once more, raising its ugly weapon above its fanged head for another vicious assault against the Salamander. Anusai's arms juddered as he parried the Ork powerful blow. The monster's red eyes burning with hateful cunning as it swung its blade in an ark towards him for another strike. A throaty roar from behind the beast heralded a chainsword slashed through the creatures neck and the beast tumbled into the trenchboard. 

Damaeus nodded quickly to his sergeant before rushing back into the melee, the sound of his chainswords throaty chugging accompanying his pounding footsteps as he rushed to assist the beleaguered Tal-San who was grappling with yet another greenskin. 

Anusai looked across the trench-works, assessing for more threats. Thick smoke covered the brutal melee that only moments ago had been a dug in regiment of Valhallan warriors. Even though he and his brothers were cutting down one hideous greenskin after another, Anusai could see that the Valhallan lines were breaking. Raising his plasma pistol he fired a shot that cored a Ork, who had been about to cut down a staggered guardswoman. 

"Incoming!" Screamed a voice from the trenches, and Anusai's vision was drawn to the horizon as a new group of Orks barrelled towards his position waving their crude weapons. The guttural war chant that proceeded these new Orks was deafening and the Orks still fighting in the trenches joined in. The thunderous sounds of iron shod boots pounding across towards them could be felt through the mud and the dreadful sound was enough to encourage those Valhallan's not embroiled in the deadly melee to raise their lasguns and fire at the approaching horde. 

A unexpected tornado of bolter gunfire erupted from the skies and the unmistakable sound of jump packs could be heard as three burning shapes dropped in front of the mass of Orks. Giants in blue ceramite armour slammed into the grown, throwing up plumes of dust upon arrival. The harsh sound of their bolters was accompanied by shells tearing through the advancing horde. 

Though these new warriors were dropping Orks in huge numbers it was not enough, and several Ork picked up speed at the sight of the new foe. They had nearly got within reach before the ceramite giants activated their jump packs once more, jumping across the trenches firing as they went. As the final few Orks fell dead into the mud, the blue giants turned their weapons on the trenches and with a series of precision bursts felled the few remaining Orks.

With the destruction of the Orks the remaining guards began a riotous cheer, each man and women's adrenaline still pumping they grateful thanked the Emperor for their saviours arrival.

Ignoring the uproar, Anusai moved to his fallen brother. Par-Kai had fallen in the initial assault. A crude Ork rocket had blown large chunks out of the Salamander. Anusai moved closer and saw just how serious the wound really was. Even without the apothecarions training he knew Par-Kai wouldn't be rising once more. 

" _You must be glad we arrived_." The words were spoken through the metallic sound of a vox-grill. " _Just in time if you asked me. A minute later and you'd have fallen to the greenskins as well._ " Anusai didn't look around at the voice, he just continued to recover the litanies and purity seals attached to his brothers armour. Despite battle being over, Anusai' heartbeat still thundered in his head. 

" _Didn't you hear me Salamander? I was addressing you_." Anusai felt a gigantic gauntleted hand placed on his pauldrons. 

" _I heard you just fine_." He replied, only now turning around to see his saviour properly. 

This new marine was larger than the veteran sergeant and he had to look up to see the astartes' helmeted face. An unusual sensation for one who'd always been at least 4 feet taller than almost everyone else in the Imperium. 

" _And I was busy honouring my fallen. Do you have a problem with that?_ " He said with a sneer barely concealed within the walls of polite conversation. The fire in his breast that had been fanned by fighting the Orks hadn't quelled enough yet to talk to another, let alone one of the primaris marines. " _I've seen too many of my brothers fallen, Fulminator_." Anusai spat the final word like a curse as his squadmates arrived to see the veteran sergeant blood rising. 

" _Then it was good we arrived to save you from joining them._ " Replied the inceptor sergeant as he shifted unconsciously. Matching the veteran sergeants antagonistic tone with a proud and relaxed stance out of a propaganda real. The arrogance of the Fulminator fanned the flame that burnt brightly in Anusai's heart. 

" _Do you see this bolter?_ " Anusai said as he raised his discarded bolter from the ground where he'd carefully placed it when he had expended all of its ammo. It's intricately made barrel had been shaped to look like a dragon was spitting the bolter rounds from its mouth. The dragons' scaled hide glowed red hot from its expenditure earlier on in the battle. The inceptor sergeant looked down at the veteran sergeant's weapon, his visor hid the inceptors reaction. 

" _In the Battle of Gardenhelm, this storied weapon slew a raging monster unleashed by the Dark Mechanicum. The creatures' ferociously enhanced strength nearly tore Damaeus into many pieces, until Drakesbreath here,_ " Anusai gestured across to Damaeus as he patted the bolter, the importance he placed on the weapon clearly highlighted to the Fulminator " _tore the creature down with a well placed shot._ " Damaeus, far from ashamed from the retelling, stood taller as the proud weapon was praised for it's warriors spirit and keen aim. 

" _And you see that there_ ," The veteran sergeant pointed to Damaeus' chainsword " _that fine blade not only saved me from the Orks you see sprawled about us, but also saved Brother Par-Kai on Kara Prime when the Eldar raiders tried to separate him from his skull._ " 

" _What's your point, Salamander?_ " Retorted Tarrand, confusion colouring the inceptors voice. At the question, Anusai took a step towards the Fulminator with deliberate strides. Despite being a head shorter than the inceptor Anusai still glared up, visor to visor. 

" _What have you done Master Fulminator, while we've been fighting to save the Imperium, while we've been losing brothers and struggling to keep the Imperium together? Where have you been?_ " Anusai could feel the anger bubbling up from his chest, the warm feeling of hatred that had sustained him through so many battles was now threatening to overwhelm him. The salamanders behind him felt the change in the veteran sergeant's mood and the silently shifted into a stance of readiness. Tal-San reigniting his flamers pilot light while pretending to check its functionality casually.

" _Have you not seen the holo-reels? We've been in storage. Cryogenically frozen for millennium only to rise when the Imperium needs us most._ " The trio of Fulminators, having not yet gained the measure of the Salamanders that they had just saved, heard the rising anger in the sergeant's voice but failed to notice the underlying threat which it held. The inceptor sergeant's reaction was one of triumph and propaganda rather than one laden with the care needed to cool the fiery drake he faced. 

" _What were you doing during the Nova Terra Interregnum, when the stability of the Imperium was at threat? Where were you when the Reign of Blood descended upon the Imperium when the Imperium was on its knees?_ " Retorted Anusai, his anger only fuelled by the Fulminators reaction, only sheer force of will kept the snapped reaction as a simply verbal response. 

" _We were stockpiling weapons and ammunition for our glorious arrival. Entire forge worlds were dedicated by farsighted Magi to ensuring we would have the best weapons possible..._ " 

" _You stand before me claiming to have denied the Imperium of weapons and armour in its many times of greatest need?_ " Interupted Anusai. 

" _Of course not Salamander, the Imperium's time of greatest need is now and so we have come to win the fight that you couldn't..._ " 

The dam that was holding the veteran sergeant's anger back snapped at the remark, uncontrollable rage roared through him as the Fulminators words broke through the last of his self control. Raising his bolter Anusai placed a perfect shot through the inceptor sergeants helmet and his head evaporated. _Drakesbreath's_ aim was perfect whether against xenos or astartes. 

Before the sergeants body had even slumped to the floor, the other two inceptors voxed an emergency message across all the astartes' channels. All across the world, both Salamanders and Fulminators heard the sound of waves of promethean from Tal-San and a hail of bolt pistol shots from Damaeus bringing the two remaining Fulminators down and their last breaths. 

And so began the Arrobian Crisis, bathed in salamandrian promethean and fuelled by mistrust and wounded pride. 

Fulminators and Salamanders who mere moments ago been grudgingly working alongside each other reacted with lightning speed as they heard the accusations across the vox. With such belligerent and uncompromising attitudes on both sides of the conflict it was only a few short days until the conflict had spread like wildfire and the world had erupted into a full-blown conflict. Salamanders and Fulminators fighting viciously against each other, both convinced that the other had fired first and that that were saving fighting justly. 

It wasn't until, sixteen weeks later, when the Lord Marshall of the Valhallan regiment that had fought to keep the system from the Orks finally managed to intervene in the conflict did it come to an end. Both sides recovered their dead from the renewed warzone and departed with bruised egos and an eternal grudge against the other. 

The new conflict between the two chapters warriors would further ravage the Arrobia system and prevent the necessary reconstructions. With the two sets of Astartes leaving the system prematurely the remaining Orks simply resumed their fractious fighting against both themselves and the Astra Militarum garrisoned there. It is noted in the chronicles of the system that the combination of the remaining Orks belligerence and the damage caused by the Arrobian Crisis inflicted so much destruction to the Imperial institutions in the region that the system is now on the verge of collapse as raiders of all stripes and kinds pillage the area freely.


End file.
